QUANTIFICATION OF BACTERIAL PHAGOCYTOSIS BY FLOW-CYTOMETRY AND SPECTROFLUOROMETRY

Bacterial phagocytosis is a cardinal function of phagocytes. We descri be a simple procedure to easily quantify this function using fluoresce inated bacteria. Non-ingested bacteria and those adsorbed to the cell membrane are eliminated by an enzymatic procedure. Only macrophages wi th ingested fluorescent bacteria are detected, thereby permitting an a ccurate quantification of the phagocytic process by both spectrofluori metric measurement and flow cytometric analysis.